
Jl GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS 












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WRITING A PHOTOPLAY 


Accurate information for those who 
seek self-advancement in the 
art of photoplaywriting 



ISSUED BY 

Monteath Publishing Co. 

Rochester, N. Y. 


Copyright 1917 


BY 

Donald MacCargo 



©CI.A457395 

M,4R 12 1917 

( , 



Writing a Photoplay ^ 


To the person who has a fair education, some 
little perseverance, and a good imagination, a big 
field lies open—the field of photoplay writing. 
Photoplay writing does not call for any great 
literary ability. It is the person who works out 
snappy plots, creates thrilling or amusing inci¬ 
dents, and writes in the clear and brief explana¬ 
tory style that film corporations desire, who is 
successful. 

That there is a big demand for catchy photo¬ 
plays is shown by the fact that all the big film 
corporations whose headquarters are situated in 
or near Los Angeles, Cal., daily advertise in the 
leading papers throughout the country, for photo¬ 
plays. 

These companies are expending large amounts 
of money in this way, but they can afford it. 
Here, there, they find unknown writers—boys, 
girls, young men, young women, and adults, who 
have had little or no education, but who possess 
all the requirements, a little perseverance, and 
some little imagination. 

In short, it is the person with the ability to 
create good plots, not |:he%great literary person, 
who is successful in the> phgtoplay field. 

Bright, original plots are wanted. Manufac¬ 
turers are paying from $10.00 to $25.00 and up¬ 
wards, according to the merits and possibilities of 
the- play. For the great emotional plays as are 
being produced by the Famous Players Company, 
as high as $500.00 is paid. 


5 



Of course, the beginner can not expect to write 
such plays at the start. But with ambition and 
energy, anyone can succeed. No matter what pro¬ 
fession you choose, you must start at the bottom 
and work up. 

If you are energetic and do not become dis¬ 
couraged if your first play is not accepted, you are 
the one who will meet with success. Remember! 
When you have had one play accepted, your chance 
to sell another is doubled. That is, in time you 
become known, and will experience no difficulty in 
selling all the photoplays you can turn out. 

Before you start writing it is necessary that 
you acquire a certain technical knowledge of how 
to put your plots in acceptable form. Read the 
following pages carefully! Your play MUST be 
written in this form to receive the attention of 
the play-reader. 

Technically speaking, your play should be 
written in SCENARIO FORM. The scenario is the 
manuscript from which the play is performed. It 
should describe briefly, clearly and concisely, the 
action of each scene of the play. Since photoplays 
are acted in pantomine, no dialogue is used in the 
scenario. The main thing to keep in mind in 
scenario writing is: BE BRIEF. Your play will 
receive no attention if. vfritten in a long drawn- 
out manner, such as in,Fire scene which follows: 

Scene 1—Many-gabled house, with front and 
side porches, setting, surrounded by a number of 
tall fir trees which spread their branches out pro- 
tectingly over it, quite a distance back from the 
road. Jim, in a pair of patched overalls and worn 
coat, pushing a mower over the genUy sloping 


6 


lawn. Fred Wright enters by way of front gate, 
and, after pausing a moment, goes to Jim. Jim 
recognizes his old school companion and they 
shake hands, each pleased to see the other. Final¬ 
ly Jim indicates to come into the house with him. 
They go to the big oaken door and enter. 

Instead, write it as follows: 

Scene 1—Front of house; Jim mowing grass; 
Wright enters gate; pauses; goes to Jim; both 
pleased, greet each other; exeunt in front door. 

Note the use of the semi-colon in the above 
scene. Some photoplaywrights prefer the dash, 
others the colon. It is generally conceded, however, 
with the best writers of the photodrama that the 
semi-colon is the proper punctuation. It plainly 
separates each clause of the scene, making it so 
clear that the play-reader can sum up the full 
action of the scene at one glance, and save a world 
of valuable time. The dash is confusing and the 
colon calls for too long a pause. 

It is a good plan, when you have completed 
your scenario, to have some friend, in whose 
judgment you have confidence, read and criticize 
it. Doing this does not reflect on your abilities as 
a photoplaywright, 'but, on the other hand, is a 
wise move, since your friend might find scenes, 
which, though clear to you, who are author of the 
play, are not plain to him, and would not be un¬ 
derstood by the play-reader. 

Do not be in a hurry to submit your scenario. 
Read it and read it again, making all corrections 
and eliminating objectionable features. If you find 
you can make briefer any part of the manuscript, 
do so. The briefer, the better. Don’t be satisfied 


7 


with good enough. Make it better. Remember! 
The play-reader will make no corrections, however 
small your mistakes may be. Better turn out one 
good scenario a week, than a dozen poor ones a 
day. 

In your descriptions write as follows: 

Field hospital, dance hall, modest 
dining-room, bedroom, office, kitchen, 
handsomely furnished smoking room, 
roadway, ante-room of office, stretch 
of road, city street, veranda, stretch 
of railroad, etc. 

Although murders, horrible accidents, kidnap¬ 
ping and like subjects are permissable, they are 
gradually dieing out. At present the public de¬ 
mands strong emotional plays, good sound moral 
plays, and wholesome comedy. More and more, are 
manufacturers seeing that the old kind of comedy, 
the “slapstick” kind, is not demanded by the 
public. Funny situations are wanted! 

If you wonder what a GOOD comedy is and 
what the public wants, see the photoplays in which 
Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew appear. Such comedies 
are rpaking a big hit. They are what the public 
wants! 

It is quite possible that you believe the supply 
of photoplay plots is pretty well exhausted. If so, 
you are sadly mistaken. Everyw-here are plots, 
waiting to be developed. 

Read the newspapers! There are amusing, and 
thrilling incidents happening every day, every hour, 
and it is in the newspaper that they are printed. 
Remember! Truth is stranger than fiction. 

All manuscripts should be typewritten. No 
company will consider a pen script. 


8 


Use paper 8x 11 inches, and double space 
all matter. 

Procure two envelopes, one 3 % x 8 %, another 
4 Vs X 9y2 inches. Address the larger one to the 
film company, and the smaller one to yourself. Do 
not forget to stamp the smaller envelope so your 
manuscript will be returned in case it is not ac¬ 
cepted. 

For the convenience of the manufacturer write 
“Scenario Department” in the lower left-hand 
corner of the envelope. 

Captions constitute all explanatory matter 
thrown on the screen, such as: John realizes that 
he has been deceived by the actor; The hate which 
Elsa learned in childhood grows; When winter has 
gone and sorrows are banished. 

The caption is one of the most powerful agents 
employed in the screening of the photoplay. It 
must explain in a few words the thought of any 
scene which can not be made clear by the mere 
actions of the players. It has something of the 
same use as the chapter headings of a novel. 

Captions make a play realistic. Without them 
or inserts, the characters would be unidentified, 
and the play would be wanting in all the little 
human touches that warm the heart and pitch the 
emotions of the audience. 

Do not employ the caption to tell of an action 
that is to follow in the scene. Take the following: 

Scene—Office. Mulford discovered standing by 
desk; has taken a bottle marked poison from a 
drawer. Shudders at the sight of it, then gulps 

down the contents.It would have been 

superfluous and incorrect to have captioned: Mul- 

9 



ford drinks the poison. The action in the scene 
already shows such to be the case. Use captions 
only when it is necessary to enligh^ten the audience. 

Fully as important as the caption is the insert, 
which constitutes all dialogue, letters, telegrams, 
etc., inserted in the appropriate place in a scene, 
the film being cut for the purpose. Illustrations 
of the different inserts follow: 

The telegram: 

“Will meet you at the old mill at 
8 o’clock to-night. 

Fred.” 

The letter: 

Dear Jim: — 

The gapie’s up—Harkwell has dis¬ 
covered your hiding place and has 
the evidence. I leave to marry Count 
Duboque, since you are at the bot¬ 
tom financially. Good-bye and for¬ 
give me. 

Helen. 

The news item heading: 

YOUTH FACING 

DEATH IN CHAIR 


Kumrow Quickly Convicted of 
Murder of Friend, Which 
He Had Confessed. 

Another type of insert which is used often and 
effectively is the close view. To make clear to 
our readers the close view, we insert a sample 
scene. 

Scene A—Living room. John discovered in chair 
reading. Butler enters with telegram. John takes 
it and reads. 


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Insert close view of John’s trembling hand 
tracing words of telegram. 

Scene A—(Continued). 

This scene is made much more emphatic by the 
inserted close view. We are shown the contents 
of the telegram and the effect its reading has on 
John. His hand trembles. The close view em¬ 
phasizes this fact which would be lost*in a more 
general scene. 

The close view is a mark of cleverness in a 
photoplay, when properly used. By inserting a 
close view of a person’s face, the emotions which 
may be gripping him at that time may be clearly 
shown. A calling card, an inscription on a grave¬ 
stone, a miniature photograph, may be brought, 
as it were, close to our eyes. 

Another commonly used insert is the vision in¬ 
sert, which makes clear to the audience the 
thoughts of a particular person. Take the fol¬ 
lowing: 

Scene B—Veranda. Grace discovered in chair; 
wistful expression; closes her eyes. Fade to 

Insert vision. . . .Platform at station. Train 
waiting. Fade to 

Insert vision close view. . . .John and Grace by 
steps of train in fond embrace; John boards train 
which starts; Grace wistful. Fade to 

Scene B (Continued)—Grace has opened her 
eyes, arms opened as though to take John. 

Letters, telegrams, calling cards, and like 
things which are inanimate, are merely inserts. 
Close views of hand, face, etc., under stress of an 
emotion, are close-view inserts. 


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Last on the list of commonly used inserts is 
the dialogue, used in the sense of a speech made 
by one person. Conversations should be strictly 
avoided, and can not be properly used in a photo¬ 
play. An example of the dialogue follows; 

Insert Spoken line. . . .“You shall regret your 
actions, Monsieur!” 

This completes the list of inserts. Keep in 
mind that when you use an insert, the scene which 
you are cutting should be continued as: 

Scene C—John enters, etc., etc. 

Insert—- 

Scene C (Continued)—John goes to leave, etc., 

etc. 

Take great care in selecting a title for your 
scenario. Make it short and catchy. If the play- 
reader looks at your play to find a long, uninter¬ 
esting, mispelled title, he will look no further. 

In regard to price. If you care to set a price 
on your scenario you are privileged to do so. Write 
in the upper left-hand corner of the first page, 
“Submitted for consideration at $25.00,” or what¬ 
ever you may consider it worth. If you leave the 
price to the manufacturer, write simply, “Submit¬ 
ted at usual rates.” 

A short synopsis not to exceed 4 00 words— 
make it shorter if possible—should be written 
when your scenario is completed and placed on a 
separate sheet at the beginning. 

The following scenario has been written with 
great care by the editor of this pamphlet with the 
idea of clearly showing to the beginner how long 
and in what form a one-reel scenario should be 
written. 


12 





Do not merely read this scenario and think 
you can write a play. Study it! Practice writing 
it from memory, and then work out a plot of your 
own. 

Submitted at usual rates. ' Name 

Address 

THE GHOST OF WILLERTON HOUSE 

Synopsis. 

John Wright, a wealthy young man, inherits 
a large and somewhat antique house on the death 
of his uncle. To obtain a change he goes to live 
there. A certain Barton, a forester, shows a re¬ 
markable interest in the walls in John’s house, 
going as far as to enter the house at night and 
rap on them. John discovers him one night and 
he escapes, but drops a letter from Sherburne, 
the executor of the will, which shows Sherburne 
and Barton to be in league, and hunting for hid¬ 
den wealth in the house. John visits Sherburne 
and gives him a calling down. 

Barton bestows his effections on Helen Grant, 
a neighbor of John. She resents and John gives 
Barton a lesson for his conduct. Barton attempts 
to frighten John into leaving the house by playing 
ghost, but fails. Failing in this he attempts 
Wright’s life. Helen interferes and saves John. 

(Begin a new page) 

THE GHOST OF WILLERTON HOUSE. 

Scenario. 

Caption 1—At the death of his uncle, John 
Inherits Willerton House. 


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Scene 1—Living room. John discovered in 
chair smoking; servant enters with mail; John 
takes letter; dismisses servant; reads: 

Insert 1—Letter— 

Mr. John Wright, 

Boston, Mass. 

Dear Sir: 

It is my duty as executor of your 
uncle’s will to inform you that you 
are made heir to Willerton House 
and the surrounding land. The 
house is now at your disposal and 
all arrangements for your arrival, 
should you desire to take up your 
residence there, have been com¬ 
pleted. 

Hoping this will meet with your 
approval, 

I am. 

Very truly yours, 

William T. Sherburne. 

Scene 1 (Continued)—John finishes reading; in¬ 
dicates he will go; rises and leaves room after 
instructing servant whom he summons. 

Scene 2—Station. Train coming into 'picture; 

comes to stop; John among passengers who 
get off; inquires way from station agent and 
leaves. 

Scene 3—Front of house. John enters picture; 
goes up drive to door; rings bell; butler ushers 
him in. 

Scene 4—Living room. Butler ushers John in; 

John seats himself; butler leaves. 

Caption 2—The butler resents the intruding of the 
forester. 


14 


Scene 5—Kitchen. Barton, forester, eating apple; 
butler enters; forester greets him; butler 
angry; hot discussion follows; Barton sulkily 
leaves. 

Scene 6—Same as 4—Living room. John reading; 
butler enters and indicates dinner is served; 
they exeunt. ' 

Scene 7—^Dining room. Butler enters, followed by 
John; John seats himself and eats. 

Scene 8—Cottage in woods. Barton comes into 
picture; enters cottage. 

Scene 9—Inside of cottage. Barton enters; seats 
himself. 

Scene 10—Same as 4—Living room. John read¬ 
ing; rings for butler; indicates he would like 
to be shown to his room; they exeunt into hall. 

Scene 11—Same as 9—^Inside of cottage. Barton 
smoking; takes hammer from table; puts on 
hat and exits. 

Caption 3—^Barton unaware that John has arrived, 
and believing the butler to be out, enters 
Wilier ton House. 

Scene 12—Outside of house. Barton comes 
stealthily from trees; goes to house; tries win¬ 
dow and pushing it up enters. 

Scene 13—Same as 4—Living room. Barton en¬ 
ters by way of window; takes a hammer from 
his pocket and taps on walls, listening all the 
while. 

Scene 14—Bedroom. John sleeping; awakes; 

alert; rises and puts on slippers; exits. 


15 


Scene 15—Same as 4—Living room. Barton 
still tapping walls; John enters and turns on 
electricity; Barton startled and dives out the 
window when John asks him what he is doing 
there; John angry; shuts and locks window; 
stands thinking; sees crumpled piece of paper 
on the floor; picks it up and reads: 

Insert 2—Part of letter—and I well know that 
Wright was a wealthy man. He bequeathed 
the house to his nephew and a small sum to 
charities. Where did the rest go? Make care¬ 
ful search of the house and report to me. 

W. Sherburne. 

Scene 15 (Continued)—John finishes reading; nods 
head knowingly; butler enters; John says it 
is all right; they exeunt. 

Caption 4—^The next days brings aii understanding 
with Sherburne. 

Scene 16—Office. Sherburhe writing; John enters; 
gives Sherburne his card; Sherburne seems 
pleased; offers han.d; John disregards it and 
shows Sherburne the letter; Sherburne at¬ 
tempts an explanation. 

Insert 3—“I desire no explanation Mr. Sherburne.” 

Scene 16 (Continued)—John angered; will not 
listen to Sherburne; turns sharply and exits. 

Caption 5—Helen resents Barton’s affections. 

Scene 17—Wood. Helen walking along; Barton 
comes up and speaks to her; she pays no at¬ 
tention and starts to walk away; Barton goes 
closer; seizes and attempts to kiss her; they 
struggle. 


16 


Scene 18—Woods. John walking; stops; registers 
sound and turning shows wide-awake ex¬ 
pression; rushes off. 

Scene 19—Same as 17—Wood. Helen and Barton 
struggling; John rushes into picture; gives 
Barton a shove, knocking him to the ground; 
Barton rising draws a revolver; John seizes 
and disarms him; tells him to go; Barton 
leaves and John and Helen converse; Mr. Grant 
enters picture; Helen explains circumstances; 
Grant pleased; all walk off through woods. 

Scene 20—Woods. The three of Scene 19 walking 
along; come to where John’s way parts; he 
makes adieu and leaves. 

Scene 21—Woods. John walking; stops and looks 
back, longingly; continues on way. 

Scene 22—Woods. Helen and father walking. 
Helen turns and smiles. 

Caption 6—Barton, the only one knowing of cer¬ 
tain secret passages in Wilier ton House, decides 
to frighten John into leaving by playing ghost. 

Scene 23~Same as 9— Inside of cottage. Barton 
thinking; gets up and exits. 

Scene 21—Same as 12 — Outside of hon«e. Barton 
enters picture; creeps over to the house; 
tries living room window; tries another; makes 
entry by way of cellar window. 

Scene 25—Same as 4 —Living room. Barton enters 
from an inner door; looks all around; exits 
into hall. 

Scene 2(}—Stairs. Barton coming stealthily up 
stairs. 


17 


Scene 27—Upper hall. Barton reaches top of 
stairs and examines wall of hallway; presses 
a point on the wall; a door opens; Barton 
takes candle from his pocket and lights it; en¬ 
ters. 

Scene 28—Inside of narrow passage-way. Barton 
enters; closes door and begins to walk, using 
no stealth. 

Scene 29—Same as 14—^Bedroom. John sleeping; 
awakes; registers sound; goes to door and looks 
out; goes out. 

Scene 30—Same as 27—Upper hall. John comes 
out of room and listens. Butler enters picture. 
They are puzzled to know, where the walking is. 

Scene 31—Same as 28—Narrow passageway. 
Barton stops walking; smiles wickedly. 

Scene 32—Same as 27—Upper hall. After con¬ 
sultation John and butler leave scene. 

Caption 7—To prove he is not a coward. 

Scene 33—Same as 9—Inside of cottage. Barton 
smoking; suddenly takes letter from his pocket 
and reads: 

Insert 3—Letter. 

Dear Barton: 

From the reading of your last let¬ 
ter I find that after all you are a 
coward. With a fortune within reach 
you fail to act. If you cannot suc¬ 
ceed while Wright lives, silence him. 

Yours truly, 

William Sherburne. 


18 


Scene 33 (Continued)—^Barton angrily puts letter 
in pocket; takes revolver from drawer of table 
and fondles it; indicates he’ll show Sherburne; 
exits. 

Scene 34—Woods. Helen walking along with rifle; 
watchful for game. 

Scene 35—Same as 3—Front of house. John comes 
out front door and goes off into woods. 

Scene 36—Woods Barton walking along. 

Scene 37—Woods. John walking along; stops and 
views scenery. 

Scene 38—Woods. Barton walking; stops and be¬ 
gins creeping along on hands and knees. Gets 
revolver out to shoot; takes aim. 

Scene 39—Woods. Helen standing, looking for 
game; startled expression; rushes off. 

Scene 40—Same as 38—Woods. Barton aiming 
with revolver; Helen comes up behind him with 
gun and orders him to drop his weapon. He 
obeys. 

Scene 41—Same as 37—Woods. 'John turns and 
exits. 

Scene 42—Same as 40—Woods. John enters pic¬ 
ture; greets Helen; looks at Barton; sees re¬ 
volver on ground and picks it up; Helen ex¬ 
plains; Barton cringes when John makes a 
move toward him; John empties revolver of 
cartridges and gives it to Barton; tells him to 
go; Barton slinks off. John turns to Helen; 
love scene follows. Fade out. 

The End. 

19 


For convenience of readers of this pamphlet, 
the editor has compiled at considerable expense, a 
complete list of all the film companies in the United 
States in the market for scenarios. The list fol¬ 
lows: 

All Star Feature Film Co., 514 West 8th St., Los 
Angeles, Cal. 

American Film Mfg. Co., Ashland Block, Chicago. 
Apollo Film Co., 4500 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, 
Cal. 

Balboa Amusement Co., 80 6 Security Bldg., 
Chicago. 

Beauty Films, Santa Barbara, Cal. 

Biograph Co., 807 East 175th St., New York City. 
Broncho Film Co,, 1712 Allesandro St., Los 
Angeles, Cal. 

Belmar Film Co., 1451 Broadway, New York City. 
California Film Exchange, 73 4 South Olive St., Los 
Angeles, Cal. 

Colorado Motion Picture Co., Canon City, Colorado, 
Domino Film Co,, Longacre Bldg., New York City. 
Dragon Film Co., 220 West 42d St., New York City, 
Eclair Film Co., 12 6 West 4 6th St., New York City. 
Essanay Film Co., 43 West 3 9th St., New York City. 
Famous Players Co., 128 West 56th St., New York 
City. 

Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Co., Vine and Selina 
Sts., Los Angeles, Cal. 

Kalem Co., 235 West 23d St., New York City. 
Kay-Bee Film Corporation, Longacre Bldg., New 
York City, 

Keystone Film Co., Longacre Bldg., New York City. 
Kinemacolor Co., 1600 Broadway, New York City. 
Komic Film Co., 4500 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, 
Cal. 


20 


Lubin Mfg. Co., Indiana Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 

Majestic Film Co., 4500 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, 
Cal. 

' Masterpiece Film Co., 13 27 Gordon St., Los 
Angeles, Cal. 

Mutual Film Co., 4500 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, 
Cal. 

New York Film Corporation, Longacre Bldg., New • 
York City. 

Norbig Film Mfg. Co., 1745 Allesandro St., Los 
Angeles, Cal. 

North American Film Co., Ill Broadway, New 
York City. 

Olcott Film Co., 737 Tallyrand Ave., Jacksonville, 
Fla. 

Pathe Film Co., 25 West 45th St., New York City. 

Princess Film Co., New Rochelle, N. Y. 

Ramo Film Co., 102 West 101st St., New York City. 

Reliance Film Co., 4500 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, 
Cal. 

Selig Film Co., 1600 Broadway, New York City. 

Solax Company, Fort Lee, N. J. 

Thanhouser Film Co., New Rochelle, N. Y. 

Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 2826 Decatur Ave., Bed¬ 
ford Pk., Bronx. 

Universal Film Mfg. Co., 1600 Broadway, New 
York City. 

Vitagraph Co., East -15th St. and Locust Ave., 
New York City. 

Note—Scenarios intended for submission to the 

Reliance, Majestic, Komic and Appollo Companies, 

should be addressed to the Mutual Film Corpora¬ 
tion, Scenario Bureau, 4500 Sunset Blvd., Los 

Angeles, Cal. 


21 


Do not think you can write a “salable” 
scenario in a day. Even experienced writers take 
a week at least. 

Keep a notebook handy. When an idea enters 
your mind jot it down. ' Then when you have time 
you can develop your thought. 

Do not plagiarize. Infringement on copy¬ 
righted books or other publications is punishable 
by law. 

When you visit a picture show consider that 
you are in a school. Study the pictures! Note the 
kind that the manufacturers are producing. When 
you write a play use judgment in sending it away. 
Keep in touch with the kinds of plays produced 
by different companies. Send your play to the 
company which is producing plays of a similar 
style. 

Keep in mind that if you intended to be a 
carpenter, a doctor, a clergyman, or intended to 
take up any profession, you would expect to have 
to work hard to succeed in it. 

If you would succeed as a photoplaywright you 
must work; but it is pleasant work. Mark Twain, 
the noted humorist, gave three rules for the 
“Would-be Author.” They hold true for the 
“Would-be Photoplaywright.” The first was write; 
the second was write; the third was write. 

Follow that advice, don’t get discouraged, and 
you are bound to be successful. 


22 




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